2015 Domaine des Terres de Chatenay Vire-Clesse Quintaine 750 ml

65-Year-Old-Vine Viré-Clessé and “The Headspinning 2015s”

He didn’t do it for money. There was almost no hope of recouping the investment in any reasonable period of time. He didn’t even do it for the freedom; he had enjoyed almost every minute of his 18 years leading the enology team at the cooperative in Viré. No, the reason Jean-Claude Janin walked away from security, even an occasional weekend of fishing, was to raise the bar of the appellation he’d worked so long and hard to champion — to follow the torch lit by André Bonhomme over 50 years ago.

The most precious hillsides above Viré-Clessé were the first slopes to be planted to vines by the monks of Cluny hundreds of years ago. To say the least, the men of the cloth knew what they were doing. As in Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault, the slopes are east-facing, strewn with chunks of bleached limestone.

But unlike the great Chardonnays of the Côte de Beaune, down here, just a few miles north of Mâcon, winegrowing families were late to bottle under their own labels. The investment in cellar excavation and equipment was daunting. The risk, particularly when farming the best low-yielding old-vine parcels, was deemed too great.

As a result, when we first heard about Jean-Claude’s gamble from Gilles Corsin, the winemaking wizard of Saint-Véran, we were intrigued. Janin had spent years crafting surprisingly solid Chardonnay at the cooperative, working with fruit drawn from poorly farmed vineyards above Viré. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Jean-Claude packed up and gave notice. A couple of days later, the local rumor mill was humming.

In a move that surprised most, Janin joined his wife at a tiny 9-acre estate comprised of a patchwork quilt of 40- to 65-year-old-vine parcels, resolving to farm each by hand, eschewing all use of chemical herbicides and pesticides. If Jean-Claude did what he was capable of doing, Corsin told us, Janin’s Viré-Clessé was about to give many in Meursault a run for their money.

We visited the Janins for the first time on August 15th, 2011. We toured the small but precisely designed new winery, what Jean-Claude called his “laboratoire.” We listened as the enologist told us how he’d finally worked up the nerve to roll the dice, giving up his fishing rod for pruning shears, his weekends in a canoe for Sundays in the seat of a tractor. But it wasn’t until we walked the Chardonnay patches above the hamlets of Chazelle and Quintaine, where 65-year-old vines beam under the summer sun, that we really understood the magnitude of the opportunity at hand.

As has been reported all over France, 2015 was an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind growing season. The incoming 2015 white Burgundies are STUNNERS, richer than the 2014s, but in the case of Janin’s Viré-Clessé Quintaine, still SO precise, aromatic, and fresh.

Stephen Tanzer called them “The Headspinning 2015s,” describing them as “Burgundy’s fleshiest, most opulent white wines since at least 2009.” We think the 2015s possess even more concentration than the ‘09s, and are even more ripe than the 2010s and 2012s, but not lacking in the vibrancy so characteristic of Burgundy.

The 2015 Terres de Chatenay Viré-Clessé Quintaine is brilliant greenish-gold in color, infused with piercing aromas of apple and pear, tinged with new-wood vanilla. Impeccably rich and luscious on the attack, yet still marvelously crisp and vibrant, the core is Meursault-like, juicy, pure, and very focused. The finish is long, firm, and penetrating. Drink now — if you insist — or do as we’re doing, and lay down one of the more brilliant white Burgundy bargains in years until the late-2020s.

For California chardonnay enthusiasts and white Burgundy aficionados. 80 cases are up for grabs at $19/bottle — shipping included on 6 bottles or more.